Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Sprout Social, Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from twelve brokerages, with one sell rating, five hold ratings, and six buy ratings.
• The stock's average 12-month price target among analysts is $29.17, with significant recent cuts from firms like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, reflecting a bearish outlook.
• Despite reporting better-than-expected earnings with $109.29 million in revenue, Sprout Social faces challenges with a negative net margin of 14.25% and predictions of -0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.4167.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Sprout Social from $32.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Sprout Social from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Sprout Social from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Sprout Social from $34.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Sprout Social Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPT traded down $0.96 during trading on Monday, reaching $15.10. 921,437 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 681,317. The company's 50 day moving average is $19.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $878.52 million, a PE ratio of -14.77 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Sprout Social has a 52 week low of $14.59 and a 52 week high of $36.30.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.03. Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 31.03% and a negative net margin of 14.25%. The company had revenue of $111.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.09 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sprout Social will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.12, for a total value of $844,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,647.04. This represents a 84.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Karen Walker sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.05, for a total transaction of $95,250.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,963 shares in the company, valued at $551,745.15. The trade was a 14.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 112,375 shares of company stock valued at $2,389,535. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPT. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Sprout Social by 1,319.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,462 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 85.2% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,463 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 78.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sprout Social in the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Sprout Social by 266.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,934 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares during the period.

About Sprout Social

Sprout Social, Inc designs, develops, and operates a web-based social media management platform in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides cloud software for social messaging, data and workflows in a unified system of record, intelligence, and action.